International Peace Plans - Who is Right? Review of John Warren's International Peace Program.
Ralph Warren, writer of the best selling book The Purpose Driven Life and chief of the Saddleback super church in California has introduced an international PEACE program which seeks to enlist one billion foot soldiers for that Kingdom of God. In a talk given to 30,000 people in Anaheim, USA h-e announced his approach which may forever change the face of international missions to defend myself against these five international leaders for which the church can be the best distribution and change agent to overcome Spiritual Emptiness, Self-serving Leadership, Poverty, Infection and ignorance (or illiteracy). This is the most important series of messages weve ever shown in 23 years here at Saddleback church. We believe it is the main beginning of a Spiritual Awakening, a Global Movement, a New Reformation. The First Reformation returned us for the message of the original church. It was a reformation of doctrine - what the church BELIEVES. That 2nd Reformation can reunite us for the goal of the original church. It will be a reformation of purpose- what the church DOES on the planet.
All this seems very inspiring and is having a huge affect evangelical Christians. However the proven fact that the church can change the control of the world system and eradicate poverty, disease and ignorance does not square up with the Word of God or with the truth of what is happening in the world today. Christ said you can find likely to be famines, earthquakes, pestilences and disasters reaching the earth with increasing frequency in the last days and widespread persecution of Christians, in fact the whole reverse of what Rick Warren says.
This is not to state that Christians should not be involved in giving aid to those in need in the world. But the indisputable fact that the church may be mobilised to provide a new leadership to the world which can remove poverty and social ills is another restatement of the dominion training which has blinded Christians to the truth of the prophetic word over the past thirty years and sent them down the path to frustration. To discover additional information, please check out: pastor lee mcfarland. Dreams of transforming society and endless predictions of impending resurrection often turn to ashes and dust inside the face of social reality. More and more people turn to yoga, Tai Chi and other alternative spiritualities based on Hinduism and eastern religions, Islam becomes more and more powerful, and apostate Church leaders continue to deny the principles of the faith to the applause of the press which for the most part shows hatred and contempt for the Lord Jesus Christ. Meanwhile crime, abuse, terrorism, breakdown of family life and sexual immorality continue to increase at alarming rates across the world, creating life almost unbearable for thousands.
There's not a shred of evidence either in the Bible or in world events around us a million man evangelical Christian army will lead the world out of darkness to the light of Rick Warrens New Reformation. To begin with you will find not a million evangelical Christians on the-earth anyway. The only way you will come up with this specific number is as an ingredient of the same church, which seems to be the way of modern evangelical Christianity if you include the Roman Catholics and other nominal Christians anyway. Billy Graham mentioned of the late Pope He was one of those rare individuals whose legacy will endure long after he's gone. I'll remember his personal warmth to me and his deep interest in our ministry. Fran Edwards, Director of UK Evangelical Alliance, explained, John Paul II was one of the most remarkable Christian leaders of recent years, a Christian pastor having a commitment to the church and evangelisation and to creedal Christianity. Mark Houston, president of Hillsong Church in Australia said, We hope this papacy, like those before it's marked by dedication to seeing the Christian message go forward and people transformed by the energy of the Gospel.
Just how can Roman Catholicism and the late Pope who believed Mary to be always a mediator between man and God and who was happy to say that Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and animists were praying to the sam-e God as Christians be praised this way by evangelical Christians? How do people be improved by the power of the Gospel in a church which denies that power? If this really is the majority view of evangelical Christians to-day we have to return to the first Reformation and identify the role of Roman Catholicism in persecuting Biblical Christianity and stopping the spread of the Gospel and the Word of God.
In the actual Reformation men like Jan Hus, Latimer, Ridley and Tyndale gave their lives being burnt at the position to be able to carry the wonderful concept of the Gospel to people blinded by popish superstition and error. In-the mega churches of America that are selling the New Reformation financed by Rick Warren we've dance surfaces, stores and Christianity made pleasant and palatable to the people while for the most part the Term of God is left outside, specially when it concerns Bible prophecy.
In his book Purpose Driven Life (page 285-6) Rick Warren shows that the research of prophecy can be a distraction from expressing our faith. Commenting on Acts 1.6-8, h-e writes If the disciples wanted to speak about prediction, Jesus quickly changed the conversation to evangelism. H-e wanted them to focus on their mission to the world. He said essentially, The details of my reunite are none of your business. What is your company may be the mission I've given you. Concentrate on that! That really misses the point of the disciples in Acts 1 and the debate between Jesus. If people require to dig up new info about lee mcfarland, we recommend many online resources you should think about pursuing. Christ wasn't saying the details of His return are none of our company, He was simply saying the events surrounding the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel weren't going to happen there and then in the lifetime of the disciples, but they had a job to do, which is to get the Gospel to the ends of the world.
If the Lord considered the information on His get back to be nothing of our business it's somewhat strange that He should tell the disciples the indications of His second coming in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 1-3, Luke 2-1) and that therefore a lot of the Old and New Testament should be used up with predictions about this event. This provocative lee mcfarland portfolio has numerous lovely warnings for why to deal with it.
In-fact the idea that there's a conflict between those who want to examine prophecy and those who want to access it with the vision of Jesus is just a red herring. You will realize the urgency of the communication of the Gospel venturing out so that people might be preserved from the judgement that's coming to the earth if you understand prophecy. It's the apostate church that really wants to have the Christians away from looking at the predictions of the Bible, because they tell us that in the last days you will see false Messiahs and false prophets leading many astray and a false Church allied to-the political world system getting persecution around the true Christians (Matthew 24.5, 23-26, 2 Thessalonians 2, 2 Timothy 3-4, 2 Peter 2, Jude, Revelation 1-7).
Interestingly the Roman Catholic Church in Britain has published a declaration called The Gift of Scripture which says that individuals can't expect you'll find full accuracy in the Bible. In particular it states that the first 11 chapters of Genesis and the Book of Revelation are not to be take-n literally and that we cannot expect to find information about the end of the world in Revelation. Yet the Lord Himself claims that Revelation is approximately the things which will happen next (Rev 1.19) and it describes at length the Great Tribulation period, the reign of the Beast (Antichrist), Armageddon and the 2nd Coming of Christ to the world. Discovery 22.18-19 pronounces a curse o-n individuals who would add or take away from the language of the book of this prophecy.
Of course it is not simply Roman Catholicism that's saying you cannot take Genesis and Revelation really. Many apparently evangelical Bible universities teaching people for ministry in churches in the UK also pour scorn on a literal interpretation of Genesis and Revelation. But if we can't trust what God says about the start and the end, why should we trust what H-e says about what happens in-between? In-fact Creation research organizations are producing exemplary material showing the Genesis account is the most probable explanation of how we came to be here and our purpose within this newspaper is to help Christians understand the importance of Bible prophecy and its regards to recent events.
Whoever has a sober and practical evaluation of the present world situation must recognize that the world is heading for the Great Tribulation and the reign of the Antichrist. Some sort of that indoctrinates its kids with sexual immorality, violence and occultism is not likely to change en masse to Jesus the Messiah when the problems hit the-earth, but to the false Messiah or Antichrist (Revelation 13). Our world system today is a house on the sand which is heading for disaster and neither politicians, business leaders nor church leaders have the ability to stop the calamity that is coming. The only one who can sort out the chaos which we have made from our planet is the Lord Jesus Himself and Bible prophecy helps it be clear that He will do that when He returns in glory and power.
Nevertheless if the church has been encouraged to reject the prophetic word and to work with the world in wanting to solve its dilemmas by a worldwide PEACE plan, it'll wind up compromising with the world process and the apostate church, referred to as Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth in Revelation 17.5. As this organisation is going to persecute true Christians (I found the lady, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus), the call of the Lord is to Turn out of Babylon not to work with it!
Gods true peace plan has to do with Jesus the Messiah returning to the Mount of Olives at the time when global conflict provides the armies of the world to Jerusalem at the end of this age. In the meantime His contact is for us to make peace with God by repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His blood at the corner in order to redeem us. Unfortunately in the midst of all the clamour for a Brand New Reformation which Rick Warren is calling for, there is an increasing neglect of the preaching of the Gospel and study of the Word of God in professing evangelical churches. As a result the New Reformation is actually hunting like the Counter Reformation which sought to lead the church back to the dark ages of ignorance and superstition.
We do agree however that a international movement mobilising Christians is needed, but mobilising them to warn of the coming time of thinking and to point to the Lord Jesus who has come in fulfilment of prophecies of the Suffering Servant Messiah and who is coming again in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Reigning King Messiah. We need to pray the Holy Spirit will raise up such a movement and distribute the term of answer to this last-generation while time remains.
Sir Isaac Newton, the famous scientist who lived from 1643 1727, was a Bible believing Christian. H-e wrote About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies and insist upon their literal meaning in the center of much clamour and opposition. Since the world heads for disaster lots of people are likely to be looking for a solution which makes sense. The thought that the Christians are planning to dominate the government and bring godly leadership to the world and resolve the problems of poverty will appear ridiculous in the problems described by Jesus and the Apostles for the end of this age. The only concept which can make sense is the call-to flee the wrath to come and for that Kingdom of God is at hand to repent and believe the Gospel.
While we don't have the kind of figures Rick Warren can ask, we do have a growing circle of people around the world who realize that the conclusion of this age is coming and want to make the concept of salvation known. If you're o-n a sinking ship and the water is flowing in by way of a large number of holes, there is very little point in directing your efforts to completing the holes. You have to be getting people off the ship and onto the life boat.
By this I really do not imply that Christians shouldn't be involved in as an integral part of a problem due to their eternal souls helping those in need. I do imply that if Christians think they could save your self the world system by so doing they are planning to be unhappy. It is because the ship the people is going in today, the Cosmos world system, is holed in many places under the water line. I-t cannot be preserved from destruction. However the people that are onto it can be preserved. There's only one lifeboat that may bring us to security repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here are some suggestions In the event that you are pushed to complete some thing about that.
1. Pray that God will raise up individuals who can minister the reality in these days and point people to salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus.
2. Distribute pamphlets, journals, books and films made to make people aware of the coming-of god and the way in which of salvation (we are able to offer). Clicking lee mcfarland perhaps provides aids you might tell your co-worker.
3. Organise a Bible study considering the difficulties of the finish times (we've created a number of Bible studies with this issue The Omega Course, readily available for 1 including postage).
4. Arrange a gathering (in a house or in a church) showing a film about the end times and receive non Christians along. Study yourself which means you can show people bothered by what's happening in the planet that Jesus is coming again and where to find faith in Him..